I sighed heavily, frowning at him and debating whether this would be a mistake or not.
Then he sidestepped, going toward Kalina.
She didn’t flinch.
She didn’t cower back.
Merely watching him, she stayed… calm.
Fuck it.
“All right.”
Misha smiled and started to run out of the room. “I’ll start packing now!”
With one last glance at Kalina, I wondered how I could get through to her like my son was.
“You will be safe,” I promised.
She dipped her chin and broke eye contact, prompting me to retreat and back out of the room to close the door.
Even though the idea to bring Misha along was a rash one, something he’d pushed onto me, I slept on it and woke in the morning with a conviction that it couldn’t end badly. When I told Luka in the morning, updating him like we all did, he raised both brows.
“Do you really think it’s wise to bring him along?”
I nodded. Hewasthe boss. He was the leader of the family and the man I looked up to. He never overstepped my role as Misha’s father, though, and he wouldn’t tell me how to change my parenting decisions where he was concerned. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t speak up and offer his opinions, though.
“I only ask because it wasn’t too long ago that he was…” Luka rolled his hand, as if searching for the words. “Skittish.”
Not like Kalina.
And it made sense for Misha to have had issues with fear. We lived in a dangerous world. The odds of his witnessing someone bloody and bruised from a fight or gunshot were high. I couldn’t shelter the realities of what it meant to be a member of the Dubinin Family. He was just a small boy then. He still was a boy, not yet a teen or a man. Children were more prone to be scared of scary things. But a woman, a full-grown adult like Kalina, she shouldn’t have been subjected to whatever made her the fearful person she was now.
“I agree,” I replied. “However, I’m confident that he wouldn’t be exposed to any violence on this getaway.”
He raised his brows. “You’re not at all concerned about Erik Boranov trying to get her back? Or Yusef?”
“Of course I am,” I admitted. “And that’s why Simon and his selected team will monitor any threats of their coming close. I’ll take Kalina and Misha to one of the properties uptown.” All the possible safehouses I could pick from would be staffed with guards. I didn’t need to tell Luka that.
Later, though, when I planned the logistics of bringing Kalina and Misha to a penthouse across town, where it would be quieter, I debated if that was the best choice.
After watching the footage of Kalina’s room and seeing her once more standing near the window and looking up at the sky, another idea came to me.
She could’ve been holed up in a closet all this time.
Sheltered and forbidden from even looking outside.
Her fascination with gazing at the sky prompted me to reconsider.
What if she could relax better outside the city? Away from all signs of this place?
I could take her to a cabin upstate, somewhere remote and isolated. For all I knew, maybe she was triggered by the sounds of the city, of the sights of an urban area.
Misha would enjoy it too.
I didn’t debate it for long. Sticking with the abrupt change of plans, I contacted Raisa and Gabriella. Both women had offered to find clothing for Kalina, and between the two of them, they understood that we needed to find outer wear for her. Coats and gloves and boots and more things suited for time in the snow. Outdoor attire.
It would be just my luck to assume what Kalina might like or want, but as I prepared to get Misha ready for the flight, I really hoped that the scared guest wouldn’t be someone who hated nature.
